I'm Officially 28!

Yes, I'm officially 28 years old! Ack, I'm old. In 2 years, I'll be 30 years old - my dreaded age. Why? I don't want to talk about it. LoLz.

I made this digital scrapbook layout for myself. Hehehe. I'm the only one who's into digital scrapbooking around here. If you want to make me one, just go to my Friendster account to grab photos of me, then, post a comment here.

Anyway, how did I celebrate my birthday? Like any other day.

Well, I just started with a new company. I'm not close to anyone yet. I don't consider any one of my current colleagues a friend so no one in the office knew that it was my birthday last night.

I don't have friends here in Cebu yet. All of my friends are in Manila. And they seemed to have forgotten to greet me yesterday. Or so I thought.

Me and Mai are in conflicting schedules so we can't go out to celebrate. I just woke up early yesterday so we can have dinner together. Mai also gave me a letter before I got off the car. It was a birthday letter. As soon as I entered our training room, I read it and I was almost in tears. That simple letter made me feel special on my not-so-special birthday.

I received a birthday greeting text message from my brother at around 1am, I think. Then, in the morning, Nanay called me. She wished I was near so we can celebrate my birthday. I miss her, my brother and tatay (na rin). It was the very first time I spent my birthday far from them and that simple phone call from my Nanay was enough to brighten me up.

Oh, Mama (Mai's mom) also greeted me as soon as I entered the house. I really don't know how to react when people say "Happy Birthday!" to me so it was kinda awkward. But, I thanked her, of course.

Mai's bro, Mike, got excited when he found out it was my birthday yesterday. He said, "Buti na lang half day ako bukas" (Good thing we only have half day of school tomorrow). Me and Mai chuckled at that thought coz we didn't really plan anything because of our schedules. Hehehe.

None of my barkadang tunay or friends in Manila greeted me 'til the afternoon. I just spoke to Jaan and she swore that she sent a birthday greeting message to me through Yahoo! Messenger (I was on SMS).

Mareng Badeth also greeted me on Friendster. I also chatted with Chikay on YM today. She's in the US so I just accepted her late greeting since it's still the 30th over there. LOLz! We started reminiscing my birthday celebrations with them and my #babae barkada. That was fun.

I forced someone to greet me, too - Lindon, one of my closest colleagues in my previous company in Manila. 3 of our reps also greeted me - Daisy Belle, Tracy, and Reana Jasmin.

That's it! Those were the only people who greeted me yesterday. I wanna say THANK YOU to all of you for remembering, even if Friendster or your cellphone alarmed you to it. At least you had the effort to greet me.

To those who forgot and those who will still greet me a Happy Birthday (although the Happy part won't make sense anymore because it's already in the past), thank you.

And, guess what, I received a free birthday digital scrapbooking kit from Digital Scrapbook Place. I picked Granny's Linen Page Kit.
Isn't it nice? That's the only gift I received on my birthday. I'm not complaining. Hehehe.

Thanks, DSP! I know it's automated but I love the kit!

Hmmm... we'll have pizza this Saturday as a post-celebration of my birthday. A simple celebration like that is fine with me. Mai's with me and that's enough reason to celebrate. :)

Lastly, I want to thank God for giving me 28 good years. I hope that my next 28 years or more will be more fruitful. I feel so blessed, really. Thank you, God!

I'm kinda sleepy now so pardon my unorganized thoughts. I just want to thank those people who remembered my birthday and greeted me. I'm off to clicking... then, to bed!

Entrecard - How to Boost Your Blog's Traffic | My Technique / Tips on Entrecard Dropping Daily

I've been dropping my Entrecard like crazy in the past days. Not just because I want to increase traffic but I want to look for more new blogs for me to read. Now, if you don't know what Entrecard is, then, you must get one now!

Entrecard is a blogging network. Basically, what you do is visit blogs of Entrecard members and drop your card into their Entrecard widget/inbox. If you check my Entrecard at the bottom of this blog, you'll see "Get One!" if you don't have an Entrecard account yet or you're not logged in. If you're logged in and haven't dropped here yet, then, you should see "Drop". It takes just a few seconds to drop your cards to hundreds of blogs.

Entrecard is one of the most popular and useful blogging network today. If you want to increase your blog's traffic, then, Entrecard is a must! Why? Let me explain... and tell you what I do to earn Entrecard Credits (ECs).

The main reason why Entrecard can help you boost your blog's traffic is very simple. Any Entrecard member will earn 1 EC for every card they drop on other Entrecard members' blogs. They also earn 1 EC for every card dropped on their Entrecard widgets. You also earn 25 ECs every 3 days when there's a new post on your blog. You can join other members' contests, too, with ECs as prizes.

Entrecard members can use these ECs to BUY ADS for popular Entrecard member blogs OR even use it as prizes for different contests for bloggers. Also, you earn ECs from ADS on your Entrecard that other members buy. Easy, right? And the best thing about Entrecard is it's COMPLETELY FREE, unless you want to buy ECs, which is entirely up to you.

There are thousands or even millions of Entrecard members out there so you can earn as many ECs as you would like. Take note, though, that you can only drop a card on a member's blog ONCE per day.

From my experience, I get 80% return or response drops from the members whose blogs were on my drop list daily. Now, just imagine this - if you drop 100 cards daily, you'll get around the same number of visits to your blog by members who received your Entrecard the next day. So, that's a good boost of traffic, right?

Tip #1: Now, here's what I do. I want to make sure that the Entrecard members I drop on are active members. So, I don't browse the different members blog directories in Entrecard. What I do is I just drop by the blogs of members who dropped their cards in my Entrecard inbox. I drop my card again on their inbox and I click on the AD that's shown on their Entrecard to visit another member's blog. And I continue doing this until I get tired. With this technique, I get to drop more than 100 per day. And, I don't notice it because I just drop and click away.

Tip #2: If you see a list of Top Entrecard Droppers on a certain site, go visit those members' blogs and drop your cards on their widget. These droppers are sure to visit and drop their cards on your widget.

The only thing that's keeping me from finishing my 100 drops/day goal is I get too interested with the blogs I find/see through this Entrecard dropping technique. Yes, I still read the blogs and if there's something really interesting, I leave comments to the members. If I can't leave a comment or two, I just take note of their blog's URL for future read. I've discovered a lot of really interesting blogs this way. I'll post the list soon.

How about you? How do you go about dropping Entrecard daily? What's the minimum # of drops you make everyday?

Survivor Gabon - Fang Proves They're the Worst Tribe Ever | Kelly Finally Out! | Crystal, WTF?

Fang tribe loses again. 8 losses out of 10 challenges. Wow. And they only won one because Ace let it happen. Tsk tsk.

At least they voted out Kelly, who should've been out before Jacquie. I think that's the 2nd smart thing their tribe did since day 1.

I actually enjoy watching Survivor : Gabon because I love watching the Fang tribe lose another challenge. They're a bunch of losers who can't think straight. Don't they know what the game of Survivor was all about before they sent in their application?

Alright, there are a few exceptions. I like Ace, Sugar and Matty. That's about it. They're the only sane members of the tribe. Okay, maybe Kenny, too. Randy, I also like, but he's with Kota tribe. Susie and Dan, nitwits. So, only 3 people from the original Fang tribe were sane - Matty, Michelle, Randy.

By the way, I'm SOOO glad GC was voted out. He's really irritating. Well, at least, he knows how other people see him in the game.

This episode, I started to really be pissed off with Crystal. I completely lost all my respect for her as an Olympian. She quits in the challenges. She whines. She doesn't give her all to the tribe. She acts like she's a force to be reckoned with. Biatch! She's so funny, especially when she got all defensive about her crying after losing another Reward challenge. Then, she also started blabbering about Randy's reaction when she started complaining about another loss. She hated the fact that Randy doesn't respect her, blah blah. CRYSTAL, dear, YOU DON'T DESERVE RESPECT. Well, I mean, at least, in this game of Survivor. You haven't proven to anyone yet that you're all that! So, shut up and eat your meal, smartass.

Dan, Dan, Dan. How did you become a lawyer? Sheesh! I couldn't believe that someone as stupid and inconsiderate as him would be casted for Survivor. Really!

This is one hell of a humor-filled season. I wish they could show more of the Kota tribe, though. They all look like a bunch of uninteresting castaways because the edits were all about the Fang tribe.
Kota Tribe


Fang Tribe

Jennifer Hudson's Mother & Brother Murdered - What's wrong with the world today?!?!

OMG! I just found out today that Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were murdered last Saturday (October 25). WTF?!?

I know this news is too horrible to post but it's just so depressing that I wanted to blog about it. What is wrong with people today?! MY GOD!

Good thing the murderer was already captured. From the news I read from TMZ, the suspect, William Balfour, killed them because of a car. A CAR! I know there are people who got killed for something less but, damn, WHAT'S WRONG with this world today?!?

That's why I agree with capital punishment for murderers, rapists. Or the eye-for-an-eye rule. Really. So heartless people like this William will think twice before they hurt anyone.

*Sigh* Lord, please help Jennifer Hudson's family. I hope they'll find and rescue her 7-year old nephew, who went missing after the incident.

ARGH! This kind of news really pisses me off!

My Upcoming Birthday

In a few days, it's gonna be my 28th birthday. This is the very first time that I'll be spending my birthday away from my family.

I'm not saying that it's not going to be a HAPPY birthday because I'm away from them but I feel sad knowing that I won't get to celebrate it with them this year.

I was really hoping that my brother and nanay would be able to fly here for my birthday but because of financial issues and time constraints, we had to cancel.

*Sigh* Nakakalungkot. I miss them so much.

Yesterday, nagpamisa si Nanay for me, for getting the Team Leader job. I miss that about her. Although I'm not a Mass-goer, I still love the fact na nagpapamisa sya when we receive blessings that we've been waiting and praying for weeks. It's her way of thanking God for it.

I'm not really into birthday parties. I used to just drink with friends, kwentuhan, videoke 'til the wee hours of the morning. I don't expect gifts, really. I'm just happy to celebrate my birthday with people that I really care about and that I know care about me.

This year, I'll be celebrating my birthday with my partner Mai and her family, my second family. Nakakatuwa kasi Mama (Mai's mom) cancelled her trip to Gingoog (their province) because she wants to be here on my birthday. The only reason why I don't think much or I don't get sad too much now for missing my family is because I feel SOOOO welcome here. I can feel and see that they already consider me a part of their family.


I know that they also care about my well-being. Last week, when I didn't come home 30 minutes after my end shift, they contacted me and Mai to find out where I am. Parang Nanay ko. Ma-late lang ng uwi, 'di na sya mapakali. I feel SOOO at home here now. I love them as my own family, too, believe it or not. There are still certain things that I need to work on, like calling Mai's mom "Mama". I know, eventually, masasanay din ako.

Anyway, this is about my birthday. So, what am I planning to do on the 30th? Hmmm... me and Mai have work so we can't celebrate yet because of our conflicting schedules. We don't have enough money yet to really celebrate so I guess we'll just have a post-birthday celebration after our pay-out on the 10th.

Like my other birthdays, I always ponder on what I've done in the past years. I'll be 28 and in the past 28 years, I feel like I've done a pretty good job in establishing myself financially, emotionally and mentally. However, I still have to work on a lot of things.

Me and Mai promised ourselves that we will start earning money starting this year. We have plans of buying our own house in the future so we really have to take it seriously. First, we need to pay off our credit card balance. Then, buy some things on our wish list. Afterwards, we can start saving money.

Well, I have an excuse for not being able to save money. When I was still single, I give 50% of my earnings to Nanay. Now that I'm with Mai, we have other expenses that I need to consider, too. Now, I only give 35-40% of my earnings to Nanay, the rest goes to our savings/expenses.

Hayyy... eto na naman ADD ko. Going back to my birthday... I don't know how we're going to celebrate it. I'm fine with pizza and beer/wine. Or maybe me, Mai and her 2 sisters (Joy and Ann) can go out for a ladies night-out or something. Let's just see.

If I was in Manila, baka ganun din gawin namin. Pa-deliver ng pizza or Nanay or Mai will cook something tapos videoke all night. Hayyy... miss ko na kayo, 'Nay, Kenneth, and Tatay!


Ignacio Family. Picture taken at SteakSide in Malabon on the day me and Mai were leaving for Cebu. First family photo in 10 years!

Breast Cancer Awareness (Tag) | Healthy Lifestyle |

I just received my FIRST TAG ever for this blog and it was very timely.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Jean Chia (Yummy~licious), of the Pink Sisterhood, tagged me.
Here's how to continue this tag:
1. Put the logo in your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who shared it with you.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Add your link to the list of participants below
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

I tag these people from my blogroll. There are men on the list, which shouldn't matter, really, because their female readers should also see it. And I didn't complete the 7 nominees.
(1) Kuyanin
(2) The Lady Programmer
(3) The Power of Three
(4) Inday
(5) Hammed
(6) Bing

Participants / PINK Sisterhood:
1- Fara 2- Massy 3- N.O.Y 4- Mariuca 5- A Great Pleasure 6- Greg 7- blankPixels

Jean, thanks for the tag! Nice to meet yah! I'm glad to meet new people here, really. :)

Regarding Breast Cancer Awareness, during the later part of my shift (around 6am), while I was at the lobby watching TV (it was my break, ok? hehehe), the HR people invited me to join their Breast Cancer Awareness Seminar at our game room. Too bad I wasn't able to join because I had a meeting in a few minutes.

Anyway, I believe that this is very important. However, I fear knowing that I might be sick and I'm kinda scared of doctors. So... whenever I feel pain, I tend to just take medicine to ease it. My mom's a nurse (my brother, too, soon!) so I used to ask her opinion, especially when I feel like my breasts are too heavy (turns out my period is a few days away). But now that I'm far from her, I need to take this awareness seriously.

I had my medical check-up as part of my pre-employment requirements last week. And the doctor said I'm healthy after the physical exam, which included a breast check. I'm also starting to quit smoking (I'll talk about this soon). So, I hope I can start leading a healthy lifestyle.

By the way, I'm looking forward to playing badminton in a few weeks. Weeehhh! I need to lose some weight and increase my stamina so I need to start exercising. Now, I get a few meter walk from our office building to the gate where I hail a cab. I also don't eat rice anytime during my shift. I'm not saying that's good but I don't feel hungry enough to eat lunch. Anyway, I hope we'll lose weight soon.

New Set of Games We Play

If you don't know yet, me and Mai are gamers. We play Ragnarok Online, Silkroad Online, and a bunch of different computer games.

I love hidden object and time management/dash games. Mai prefers games with food or restaurant as a theme. We've played a lot of them already but here are games that we played and currently enjoying:

Mystery Chronicles : Murder Among Friends
I believe this is the second game in the Mystery Chronicles series. I actually finished the game already. I love the mini-games/puzzles!

You play as the investigator in the murder of a couple. It's mainly a hidden object game with lots of puzzles. I had to look for cheats for ONE of the puzzles because I can't figure out how to work it. Anyway, you MUST try this game.


Pet Show Craze
A time management/dash-like game. You own the pet shop and you offer different kinds of services to pet owners.

I love this and I'm not done with it yet. It reminds me of Sally Salon. I just wish there are more options for changing the design of the shop. I love the upgrades, though.



Restaurant Rush
I just downloaded this one and I love it! It's like Burger Rush, where you need to make matches on a large grid of ingredients to cook each meal. Mai would love this! She hasn't played it yet because I just installed it. I already played it and it's fun!

They have lots of upgrades, from food that'll make customers happy, to better ingredients and recipes to increase profit. Cool, huh?



Zeal
I love, love, love this game! Your character, Amy, is the editor of a fashion magazine. It's a hidden object game with lots of mini-games/puzzles, too. I love the concept!

The hidden objects are kinda hard to look for, though. But, I love this game.




Fashion Apprentice
This is also a hidden object game. All kikays out there would love this! The game are all graphics, no real images. It's too gurly for me but I love it.

I hate the mini-game, though, wherein you have to click on things in tune with the music. But, overall, a must-play, too!



Fashionista
This one is kinda more complicated. It's a tycoon game but here, you play the owner of a fashion magazine. You have to hire a photographer, model, editor, writer. Also, you need to build or buy your own office, etc. And, you need to come up with fashion-updated magazine.

I don't like the limited upgrades with the background. But, you have a lot of control with the colors of clothes. Be careful, though. You must base your cover and your model's clothes on what's "in" according to the newsletter you get. Why? Because the price and success of your magazine depends on it, that's why!


The Lost Cases of Sherlock Holmes
This is a hidden object game. I also love the mini-games/puzzles. I like the difficulty of the game, not too hard to look for the hidden objects.

And, I love the fact that you hear the conversations, not just read it. I'm not done with this game yet so... try it yourself.


Now, if you're wondering how I got to play all these games, just send me an email at
blankpixels (at) yahoo (dot) com
and I'll share with you how.

I'm off to gaming! I need to play hidden object games this time so I can sleep. I need to because I have work tonight and I have to get up early because it's Ann's (Mai's younger sis) birthday and we're going out.

Tell me if you've already played them and which games you liked the best.

Congratulations to Moi!

CONGRATULATIONS, MHEL!!
Oh, 'di ba! I congratulated myself LOLz
Woohoo! As I've mentioned in my previous posts, I signed my job offer last night. And the offer was a shock! I didn't expect I can get that much working here in Cebu because the cost of living is not as expensive as it is in Manila.

On top of the base pay, I also get night differential, meal allowance and their premium/bonus for people in our account. PLUS I get a signing bonus, too, which is equal to a month's salary. Woohoo!! I'm excited! I'll get 1/3 of the signing bonus on my next pay-out (November 10th) and I'll receive the rest once I pass the product training and probationary period of 6 months.

It's really a time to celebrate. Last night, me and Mai started to compute for how much we'll be able to save after considering all the expenses that we're expecting.

Here's a quick rundown:
PhP 10,000 for my nanay monthly
PhP 8,000 for Mai's mama monthly (for our share with the electricity bill)
PhP 3,000-5,000 for the credit card monthly
PhP 5,000 for our meals and other stuff monthly
PhP 5,000-6,000 for gas monthly

So, we should be able to save at least PhP 5,000 or more monthly. If you're good in Math, you'll know how much me and Mai will earn every month and you'll have an idea of how much my salary is.

Woohoo!! I'm so happy and inspired to do a really great job with my new company. Definitely better than APAC, my previous company.

Tonight is my first day of work. I'll be shadowing current Team Leaders and Operations Managers in our account to have an idea of what they do and what the account is all about. I'm both excited and nervous. Excited because I get to meet new people. Nervous because I don't know how well I'll be working with them. I've had really good relationships with my colleagues in the past so I don't think there'll be too much trouble or issues this time.

Only problem is Mai and I get to spend only a few hours a day together when we both have work. I just hope that they'll give me a Saturday and Sunday off so we both have the same rest days.

Me and Mai will try EXTRA hard to make sure we save money this time. We weren't able to do that in Manila because of too many unforeseen expenses. Here, we're in control!

I already told my Nanay about my salary. I didn't tell her how much I'll give her monthly yet so I want it to be a surprise. It's what I used to give her (financial support) when I was still a Quality Specialist in Vocativ/ePLDT.

I might start training next week. The Talent Acquisition (TA) Manager told me that I'm the FIRST and ONLY Team Leader hired this month. Whoa! I thought they already hired TLs before me but I was wrong. She said that they have higher standards this time and they won't rush hiring people and sacrifice quality. I am flattered, really. So, I will really do everything I can to do great things with my new company.

My next goal is to be an Operations Manager. I'm not sure if I can do that with this new company but I'm hopeful.

NOW, I can change my profile and job description. Hehehehe.

Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings you've given me, Mai, her family and my family. Please guide me with my new endeavor. Thank you so much!

Quickie #1

Argh. I spent almost the whole day updating my other blog (complete list of recommended PTC sites) - PTC Site Reviews - and clicking for the PTCs that I didn't have time to update this blog.

Anyway, here are some "quickie" updates and going-ons as of 10/20/2008:

• My contract signing (naks, artista!) was moved from 4pm to 8pm today. I'm egsayted! Hmmm... I wonder how much my salary would be.
  
  
• Mai told me about the signing bonus for Team Leaders. I haven't heard anything about that, or even a hint, from the HR manager. So, let's just see later. Argh. This is killing me! Patience, my dear.
  
  
• We're being blessed. My nanay told me good news about the possibility of my bro working in London after his graduation next year. Thanks to my cousin in Bataan. Believe in karma. Php 5,000 ngayon, ang balik, ten fold! (*grin* @ hun)
  
  I hope that will push through. Me and Mai want to go to London! Or anywhere abroad.
  
  
• My start date was also moved to tomorrow night. Mai is on the day shift, I'm on graveyard shift. So, hmmmm... we'll only see each other for a few hours a day. Waahh! I don't even know my schedule yet! But, we can get through this. Sa Manila nga, nagkakasalubong lang bus namin eh. At least here in Cebu, we still get together for a few hours before the other goes to work. Tanggal ang 2 hours na preparation and travel time.
  
  
• Mai's dad will be riding off on Wednesday. He'll be flying to Manila tomorrow morning in preparation for it. Hayyy... It's kinda sad din because I got used to his presence during my almost 2-month stay here in Cebu.
  
  I feel for him. I'm living here "permanently" with Mai, far away from my own family. Mai endured 2 years far from hers so I know I can, too. I just hope there'll come a day that we won't have to be far from each other's families just to be together. I hope...
  
  
• I was shocked to see that my ads from Project Wonderful are now worth $0.02. Hmmm... and I've got more ads there now (check sidebar). Could it be because I have more traffic here now? But I still don't have profitable clicks from it, AdSense or even Bidvertiser (PTC Site Reviews). Argh.
  

Alright, that's all for Quickie #1. I'll post updates later after I've signed my job offer.

Wish me luck!

I'm 99.99% Hired!!!!

I'M HIRED!!!

Well, technically, not yet since I haven't signed the contract or job offer yet. Alright, that's my cynical self speaking. But, just a few minutes ago, the HR manager informed me that they're just waiting for the required signatures before they hand me my job offer.

I really don't want to celebrate until it's OFFICIAL but I think that it is 99% official because the HR manager already congratulated me.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I'm so happy!

They already asked me to have my medical checkup yesterday. I'm done with it (read my previous post, it was traumatic!). So, today, they told me the GOOD NEWS!

The HR manager told me that they might ask me to come in tomorrow, Saturday, or Monday for the job offer AND that I might start already on Monday. Whoa. Hold on. I didn't really expect it's gonna be that early but I'm fine with it.

They just contacted my references today. I have no worries about the background check because I'm confident that my previous bosses and colleagues will say great things about me and what I've contributed to the account and the company.

Hmmm... I waited for almost a month for this. I don't really want to remember what happened but I'm itching to blog about it.

First, one of the HR people FORGOT about my application. After I've passed the basic skills tests, she said she'll give me a call within the first week of my application. But, she FORGOT to mention it to her supervisor. Mai had to do a follow-up. I waited for another day and decided to call her myself (I asked Mai to get the HR person's #). And only then was she able to schedule me for an interview the following week. I waited 2 weeks for that schedule. All along, I was thinking that they didn't like me! Argh! All that frustration and depression just because someone FORGOT to do their job. Anyway, I forgave her because I found out she was actually nice. Ngarag lang siguro.

Then, after my initial interview with the HR manager, things went on smoothly. She scheduled me for an interview with the Program Director and Senior Ops Manager. After a day, they asked me to go through the medical exam. And, now I'm waiting for the job offer. All that happened just this week.

And, it's finally here! Woohoo! Now, I just need to sign that job offer/contract. I hope the offer will be good. I hope they'll consider the fact that I was the first applicant who impressed the Program Director. Naks! Hehehe. But, honestly, whatever the offer is, as long as it's not too far from what I was earning back in APAC, is fine by me.

Gosh. It's a 24/7 account. The HR manager told me that most probably, I'll be on the graveyard shift next week.

*Sigh* I'm gonna miss MAI. But we can get through that. We've overcome a lot of obstacles back in Manila. God always finds a way for us to still be together. Grabeh! We experienced a time when we really had conflicts with schedules that we barely see each other. Well, it will be easier here because of the ease of travelling from one place to another.

I'm very thankful that we're again working for the same company. So, everything else, I'm fine with.

Thank you, Lord, for this blessing. I'm sorry if I was too negative earlier. I'm so glad you allowed me and Mai to work for the same company again so we won't be too far from each other. Thank you talaga!

Phobia What?

I just found out I have a fear of NOT being able to urinate... during a drug test/urinalysis. Hmmm... no phobia term for it yet, as far as I googled. Drug-Test Phobia. That's what I'll call it.

Yesterday, I had my medical exam for pre-employment with my new call center company. I don't know why I felt so stressed about the whole thing. Maybe it's because I was thinking I might have high blood pressure or they might discover I have some kind of sickness or something.

That's another of my phobias... fear of doctors (Iatrophobia). I don't like getting myself checked because I don't want to discover that I'm sick of something. I know, I know that's wrong. But, anyway, this is about my medical exam trauma yesterday.

I had to urinate, right, for the drug test. They had me pee into this bottle with a kinda narrow mouth, just like the bottle pictured on the left. And I don't have a normal-sized female thing down there (LOLz) so I didn't expect that it will really catch all my pee. And, disappointingly, I was only able to fill up 1/4 of the bottle.

Before that, I thought I can do it in just one attempt. Mai had to pee 3 times to get it right (LOLz). I thought I can do it just once.

So, we just decided to come back in the afternoon. I bought and gulped shake, soda, lots of water just to make sure I have ENOUGH for my next attempt.

On our way back to the clinic, I was so stressed. I don't want to come back just for that drug test.

We asked the nurse if I can have a wider container PLUS the bottle for the drug test. I said I'll just use the wider container first then I'll transfer the "contents" to the other bottle. She was okay with it so...

It was a SUCCESS! I wanted to jump for joy after I saw that bottle filling up after my first few squirts. LOLz.

Alright, too much information. It's just funny that I was stressing out because of that stupid drug test. I'm glad it's over.

Phew!

Image used: Kathisophobia

Almost Hired? I'm Crossing My Fingers!

At 5:30am today, I had my final interview with a Program Director and Senior Operations Manager from the call center company where I applied as a Team Leader.

How was it? Well, I was so damn nervous the whole interview that I almost lost my voice because my throat was too dry. Argh. But, I believe I answered their questions well.

I can't really say I ACED that final interview because looking back at it, I know I had some slips here and there but nothing too glaring. I still believe that I managed to make them see how good I was as a Team Leader and what good I can contribute to their account.

They were both women. I told Mai to ask their trainer about my interviewers... if they're strict or what. I love them already! They seemed really sincere when I was explaining myself. They really looked smart and all. Women power! Woohoo!

Now, about the results... Well, I don't want to jinx anything yet. But, the HR manager texted me just a few minutes ago telling me some good news that the Program Director really liked me.

I tried to fish for more information but the HR manager told me that 99% or I have very good chances of getting hired. She hopes that I'll be patient enough to wait for their offer. So, I don't want to say that I was hired already BUT I am so happy that the Program Director liked me.

That made my day. I don't want to be all cheery here but I really hope they'll hire me. Weeeehhhh! *Sigh*

Lumakas tuloy regla ko. I think all the stress and pressure of waiting and thinking about this whole interview process affected my menstrual cycle. Ack. Too much info.

Anyway, I am crossing my fingers! Wish me luck!

Now, I'm off to telling my Nanay about this good news. Hmm... I just changed my mind. I can't believe that I changed my mind just like that while I'm still typing away this paragraph. Hehehe.

Thank you, God, for helping me through my interview. I hope they'll hire me na. Thanks again!

Dancing With The Stars - Misty May Out of the Competition | We Hate You, Kim Kardashian | Go, Julianne, Lacey & Derek!

Another show that we watch is Dancing with the Stars (DWTS). Although for most part, it might bore the hell out of people who don't like ballroom dancing, we have our fave professional dancers in the competition which makes us watch it every week.

We love watching dancing competitions like Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance. We're glad that 1 of our faves in SYTYCD is now one of the professional dancers in DWTS. We're seeing more SYTYCD grads joining or performing in DWTS so this makes it more exciting for us.

We haven't watched DWTS' episodes this week and including last week. We already downloaded them but we'll watch it later. But, we're so glad that 3 out of the 4 pros we love are still in the competition.

Who are out of the Dancing With The Stars competition so far?


Out of all the pros and stars that were eliminated or out of the competition, we're sad to see Mark, Edyta and Maks go. We didn't really like the stars who got voted out so we're just sad that these 3 pros were already out of the competition.

Here are my TOP 5 Dancing With The Stars couples:


Lance Bass & Lacey-Mae Schwimmer
They're my #1 couple because I love, love, love Lacey in SYTYCD. I love her choreography, so NOW. They prefer entertaining the audience and voters than abiding to judge Len Goodman's rules. Hmm... I hope that'll keep her in the competition. Lance is great, btw. I love them!




Cody Linley & Julianne Hough
We LOVE Julianne. We're starting to like Cody, with his boyish looks and all. Not sure how far they can go in this competition. Cody, so far, isn't stepping up to be on top. But, I believe Julianne can make him as good as Apollo. I'm crossing my fingers for them.





Brooke Burke & Derek Hough
I think Derek was really lucky this season. Is it his time to win DWTS and bring home that mirror ball trophy? Julianne won it twice, Mark won it last season. I'm just glad he's paired up with Brooke, who moves gracefully and looks so elegant on the dance floor. I hope they're in the top 3, along with Julianne and Lacey!





Warren Sapp & Kym Johnson
I like this pair, too. Warren is so cute and funny. For his size, he's light on his feet. I like Kym, too, because she's fun. Reminded me of her pair-up with Joey Fatone.






Rocco DiSpirito & Karina Smirnoff
I love Rocco because he's a well-known chef. We loved Top Chef where he was a guest. Me and Mai love watching anything about food so... And he's cute, too! Karina, I like her feisty attitude. But, she's got to make Rocco move those hips!




I hope my Top 5 will make it to the Final 5.

Now, let's move on to my LEAST fave couples this season:

Kim Kardashian & Mark Ballas
We LOVE, love, love Mark Ballas. We hate KIM. Why? Because she didn't give her BEST in this competition. No wonder they got voted out. She's too scared to look silly in front of the camera that she can't even move her body right. Girl, with a gorgeous face and body like that, I can't believe you can be as lame as you were in DWTS.

Considering the fact that Mark Ballas was your partner, you should've given it your all to prove to him that you care about his career, too. I hate her for saying that she still wants to be glamored and dressed up so she wants to stay. So that's the only reason you want to stay? Dammit! That's the problem here. Kim doesn't realize that it was a competition for the professional dancers, too. It's not just her career or life that's affected but the professional dancer, too! SHEESH!

I thought we're going to love her but she's our most hated star ever to join DWTS. I wish she won't be returning in replacement of Misty May. I hate to see Mark disappointed again. Even Cloris was doing better than Kim! Sheesh! Just look at how disappointed or sad Mark is. You can see that Kim wasn't really into the competition. So, why the hell did she join in the first place?! I can't believe you're an actress and a model, dammit.

Cloris Leachman & Corky Ballas
I'm not sure why they're still in the competition. Corky is a sport. Cloris? WTH?! In fairness to her, though, she seems to perform better each night. At least she's exerting effort for herself and Corky. I kinda like her fierceness but can't she keep it down even just a notch? I don't want to call her an attention whore but that seems to be the best way to describe her. She's funny, alright, but can't she keep a little of her dignity and behave while in front of the camera?

I admire her, though. She's 82 years old and she's still as strong as a horse. Could her attitude have something to do with that? Hehehe. I just hope they get voted out already. DWTS is a dancing competition amongst stars, not a show for sympathy votes.


Maurice Greene & Cheryl Burke
Cheryl is half-Pinay, right? So, I should like her, right? NO. I don't like her because she's too uptight. Alright, this is a competition. Everyone else wants to win as much as she does, but, damn. Do you really have to lose the fun in it? Just look at Julianne! Tsk tsk. And, Maurice, too much energy, even for me. Corny na.



There yah go. My top 5 and my least 5 in this new season of DWTS.

Now, since we haven't watched last week's episode yet, we didn't know what happened with Misty May and Maksim. We just found out yesterday that they were out of the competition and we didn't know why. Now, I got the answer.

Misty May opted out of the competition because of the tear on her Achilles tendon while she was rehearsing for Lindy Hop for last week's show. It happened on October 3rd and ABC didn't want to announce it until last week.

Now, people are speculating that maybe, ABC would bring back Kim Kardashian (oh, God, no!). Well, they just decided to NOT eliminate anyone this week and they'll just add the scores this week to next week's. THAT'S BETTER! I hate to see Kim try to dance ballroom or even Latin again. She's better off doing the back-that-thing-up in a club.

By the way, I found this crazy blog - The Superficial - that you might want to read. I'm already enjoying reading the comments and articles, especially on Kim Kardashian-hate.

Survivor: Gabon - Another Wise Move from Fang Tribe

Another episode of Survivor Gabon went by. Who got voted out? Jacquie. Poor Jacquie. She tried to save herself but the old Fang members decided that getting rid of her instead of useless Kelly (I had to replay the episode to get her name, she's too forgettable) will be better for them. We'll see.

Old Fang members. What happened? Well, there was a switch. We kinda predicted it already because they had the 2 tribes rate each of their tribemates. Maybe they thought it'll be interesting if they switch up the tribes. What would the not-so-smart Fang tribe members do if they get mixed with Kota tribe?

Well, below is the result of the rate-your-tribe task given to both tribes:

It wasn't really surprising that Kelly was chosen last, since she was the outcasted member of the Kota tribe.

Randy was chosen 3rd instead of Crystal. Crystal was upset that her tribe rated Randy higher than her. Well, you're one of the not-so-bright people from your tribe so you don't contribute much either. And you still want to continue to have 2-3 meals a day after you've consumed more than half of your rice supply? What a smart player you are!

Then, Jeff asked the top rated tribe members to choose their new tribe members. No surprise there. But Ken choosing Kelly was a wise move AT THAT TIME since they can make her vote with them, giving them the numbers in their newly formed Fang tribe. I didn't know how useless Kelly was yet.

Sugar was sent to Exile Island for being the last outcast to be chosen. Since she has the Immunity Idol, she chose comfort, of course. She's cool. I like her. She's safe for the upcoming Tribal Council and she'll join the tribe that will lose another member.

Fang tribe lost Immunity again even after they've been mixed. Marcus, still in Kota tribe, was amazing in that challenge! Kelly didn't do anything, like the rest of her tribemates. Well, except for Ace and Jacquie, now in Fang, always giving their 100%. While watching the challenge, they were the only 2 who were even exerting effort to try to win the challenge for their tribe. The rest of the Fang tribe? They're at the goal side resting their lazy asses while the other tribe was winning. Crystal complains, "I can't control the boat". Dumbass.
Sheesh. Kelly showed how weak she was. The rest of the mixed Fang tribe also did. After losing, the smart Fang tribe members need to decide on who they want to be voted out. They chose between useless Kelly and Jacquie. And, Jacquie got the shorter stick. Matty was the only "sane" member of their tribe to choose Jacquie over Kelly.

If I was a Fang tribe member, I would choose to kick out Ace. Why? If their goal was to have the numbers and the freedom to choose who they want voted out, why pick Jacquie? She didn't pose any threat at all, even if she was with Charlie and Marcus' alliance.

They already thought about Sugar having the HII (hidden immunity idol), which she and Ace could use to gain power in the game. They already decided to choose numbers than winning challenges by voting off Jacquie so why not vote out the biggest threat when it comes to strategy? They can vote out Jacquie right after Ace anyway.

Sheesh. Now, I want to see how Ace and Sugar will use that HII.

Church of Oprah? What?!

While searching for online videos of Oprah's show, The Big Give, I found this strange video and website about this so-called new religion that has Oprah as their leader.

Watch the video here.

In that video, they showed Oprah questioning what Christians believe that there's only ONE way to God, through Jesus. And, then, they showed her telling a story about how she started seeking for "something more than doctrine". The narrator was saying that Oprah is trying to make Christians to not believe in Jesus and most of the teachings of the Church.

I am a Christian. I still consider myself a Catholic. However, I don't go to Church anymore. I stopped praying the Rosary after high school. I was in a Catholic school back then and we pray the Rosary every morning. That was my decision. No one influenced me.

So, am I evil now? Because I'm not doing my responsibilities as a Catholic means that I'm more inclined to do things for Satan?

I'm not an expert on religion. But, I just decided to blog about this because I don't know why they're making a big deal out of what Oprah's doing. She's just sharing what she believes in. It doesn't mean that people should follow her. It's still up to YOU to decide who and what you should believe in.

I don't go to Church anymore because I believe God is everywhere. I believe I can reach out to Him anytime, anywhere. And I still pray. Not only when I need something but even when I'm happy and I feel blessed. I also talk to Him when I'm down and I need strength to get through things.

I don't confess anymore to a priest. Why should I? I can talk to God directly. I believe it's better that way. I don't have to go through a priest, who's also human and commits sins like I do. I know God wants us to speak to Him directly because He's everywhere. He's understanding. He's kind. He's merciful.

Oprah was shown arguing with her studio audience in a past episode of her show about their belief that there's only ONE way to God. She's saying that for every person, there's a different path to God. And, honestly, I believe that. I know that we have different experiences that would determine how strong our belief in God is. There are different ways that would lead us to God. It can be a horrible experience, a fulfilling moment, a simple act of kindness towards us... which would lead us to Him, if we lose our way.

I still believe in Jesus. But not praying to Jesus and praying directly to God doesn't mean I'm a sinner and that I'll go to Hell. No. I believe that God and Jesus simply wants us to LOVE other people, to show kindness to other people, to live our lives to the fullest because LIFE is a gift from God.

Yes, I've sinned. And there are still things that I do that are sinful. I don't ask for forgiveness everyday but I know what my sins are and I do my best everyday to rid myself of them.

The most important thing that we should believe in, even people from other religions, is God wants us to LOVE one another. He is Love. If we show compassion to others, if we share our blessings with other people, if we help others, that's one way to show how much we believe in God.

Why are they criticizing what Oprah's doing? She's not trying to convince everyone to have the same beliefs as hers. Discussions or even arguments about beliefs of different people have been occurring all over the world everyday. She's a TV personality, of course she would share what she believes in, what she has experienced and what those experiences resulted to. It's up to YOU if you're going to be convinced. Don't treat her as Satan. She's not doing anything that would hurt other people. She's even trying her best to share her blessings to others.

I'm not a big fan of Oprah but I've seen her kindness. I've seen her share her blessings, and if God didn't love her, she wouldn't have those blessings. I wish I can be as successful as she is now so I can use that success and my blessings to help others.

Why can't we just focus on one thing... the Golden rule. Do unto others what you want others to do unto you. That's the most important rule that we should follow every single day. God would be happier if we do good things to others than trying to put down someone who doesn't believe in everything the Bible and Christian doctrines say.

There are conflicting passages in the Bible, which made me stop reading it. I just believe in one thing that would make someone a good Christian or believer in God... KINDNESS.

Argh. It's too early for this kind of topic but I know God loves me. And I know He brought me here with a purpose... to greatly affect someone's life through my kindness.
Thank you, God, for everything. I hope I can be a blessing to other people, too.

Wow, 1,000+ Visitors.. and Growing? (Updates on my Quests)

Along with blogging about anything I want to write about, I put up this blog for 2 other reasons: to make money online and "be seen" on the web. Hence, the title of this blog. Now, let me tell you how I'm doing, so far.



That's the Web Traffic Summary Report from GoingUp!. I've already reached 1,000+ visitors on my blog. I put up my GoingUp site tracker on September 27th. But this blog has been up since August. The visitors tracker REALLY started at ZERO, I didn't make it up. So, that means I'm actually doing good with driving traffic to my blog. Even GoingUp! is saying so.

I know, that's not yet a GOOD number. And I haven't earned anything yet on the ads I placed on this blog and my PTC reviews blog. But, I am extremely patient. I don't want to rush everything.

Here are the things that I've done in the past weeks that made people visit my blog:

1. I joined different blog directories such as MyBlogLog, BlogCatalog, PinoyBlogger, BlogFlux, BlogTopList, MyBlogDirectory and ProudlyPinoy.

2. I joined Entrecard, which I believe gave me the most traffic for the past weeks. Whenever I see an Entrecard on a blog I visit, I drop my card, too.

3. I posted comments on blogs that interested me. However, I didn't merely do this to make people visit my blog. I made sure that my comments are sincere and the blogs that I comment on really interest me.

4. I posted in forums and Friendster bulletins. Well, here, I only posted to make people check out my blog. I know, I'm guilty. But I didn't get much traffic from there.

5. I wrote about Supernatural and my other fave TV series, like Survivor. Now, I didn't intentionally write about them (except for my 2nd Supernatural blog). But, these posts seem to be getting traffic here, too.

6. I posted tutorials about random stuff I found and discovered/know. However, only a few people have seen those tutorials. But that's still traffic.

Well, so far, those are the things that I've done which resulted to 1,000+ Visitors. And I intend to do everything I can to increase that.

Now, about earning online, I've only been successful through the PTC programs I joined. Not from ads I have on my blogs. I've already moved my ads around to see if people will be more inclined to click them but no success there. I don't want to put too much ads here but I'm doing my best to experiment without hurting my blog's traffic.

*sigh* I guess it's too early for my Whatever-I-Want that Blogging Bought post.

What about you? How did you drive traffic to your site?